Kuopio is one of the many Finnish towns founded under Swedish rule. The town was established as a village in the 1500s and incorporated as a City in 1782. Kuopio is surrounded by lakes from three sides, which supplies loads of beaches and the feeling of water being always close. Part of the wooden houses arranged as a grid have been preserved in the centre which makes it a nice place to visit. http://wikitravel.org/en/Kuopio